Orica (ORI)

Morningstar has a “hold" on
Orica
, saying that after an earnings decline in fiscal 2013, “we still expect narrow moat-rated Orica to report an earnings improvement in fiscal 2014".

“However, we expect much of the improvement to occur in the second half, with the first half still facing a number of challenges.

“We retain our forecast for an 11 per cent increase in net profit after tax, or NPAT, in fiscal 2014 driven by the absence of ground support optimisation costs and improved underlying performance from this business, the Bontang plant in Indonesia operating at full capacity, and stabilisation in the North American coal markets."